Propeller for airplanes and the like



N. F. OVERTURF.-

, PROPELLER FOR AIRPLANES AND THE LIKE.

l APPLICATION FILED FEBl 7, 132i. 1,407,080? y Patented Feb-21, 1922.

N. F. OVERTURF. PROPELLER FOR AIRPLANES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7. I92I. I I. I Patented Feb. 2], 1922.

2 SHEETS- 'ET Z.

UNITED STATES NORMAN F. OVERTURF,

0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

PROPELLER FOR AIRPLANES AND THE LIKE Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 21, 1922.

` Application led February 7, 1921. Serial No. 443,030.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, NORMAN F. OvER'rURr,

a citizen of the United States, residing at' Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Propellers 4for Airplanes and the like, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description', reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to propellers such as are employed with airplanes for the purpose of driving the same or with fans for moving air or other iiuids. It is the general object of the invention to provide a propeller of this kind wherein the pitch of the blades may be conveniently altered' and reversed and one wherein such alteration and reversal may be accomplished/without reversing the direction of rotation of the shaft. Furt-her and more limited objects of the invention will appear hereinafter and will be realized in and through the construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the drawings forming a part hereof, wherein Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a propeller of the character before set forth, together with its mounting and the means for driving, reversing and varying the pitch of the blades thereof; Fig. 2 a detail in sectional elevation through the drive shaft and propeller, one of thebearings being omit-ted; Fig. 3 a detail in plan of the propeller and hub; Fig. 4 a detail in perspective of the means for supporting one of the blades; Fig. 5 a detail in elevation of the hub and ropeller blades takenat right angles to ig 3; Fig. 6 a. detail in section corresponding to the line 6 6 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 7 a similar view corresponding to the line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

Describing the various parts by reference characters, l denotes a pair of standards each having at its upper end a journal 2, the said journals supporting a hollow shaft' 3 through bearings 4. Uniting said standards and projecting horizontally therefrom is a frame member 5, also having a leg or standard 6. For convenience of description, the end of the shaft 3 which carries the hub will be referred to as the front and the opposite end as the rear, but without any intention of limiting my invention to such articular location. r

The hub referred to is indicated at 7 and is keyed or otherwise suitably secured to the shaft 3, as indicated at 8. This hub is adapted to support any desired number of propeller blades. In the drawing, twoysuch blades are shown, indicated at 9v and each supported upon the hub by means of av post 10 threaded or otherwise rotatably mounted within and secured to the hub'. As shown, each post isi .longitudinally slotted for" the reception of its blade and is secured thereto by rivets 11. The inner end of each propeller blade'is mounted in the slotted ends 12a of a base 12 through which the body ofl the post 10 extends. Each of these bases is provided with a slot 13 extending longi-l tudinallyA thereof and transversely of the 1 hollow shaft slidably mounted in the Shaft a is a mi 14. Extending through the said rod is a pin 15 having its opposite ends located within the slots 13 of the two pbase members 12 and f extending through opposed slots 16 in the' hub 7. The inner end of each propeller blade 9 is slotted, as indicated at 9, to accommodate the adjacent endof the pin 15. The

pin is retained within the rod 14 in any con-p venient manner, as bylan axially extending set screw. 17. l

- For the purpose of operating the said rod and thereby causing the pin 15 to rotate the propeller blades about their supports von the hub, I provide a ring 18 which surrounds an inner collar 19 having a pin 2O extending through opposed slots 21 in the shaft 3 and through a bore in thesaid rod. The

ring 18 is provided with a pair of outwardly extending pins 22 which engage the slots 234*y in a yoke 23 carried by'a lever 24 pivoted to the horizontal frame member 6. i The endof the lever opposite the pins 22 is yconnected to one end of a link25, the opposite end of which is connected to a lever26 having a spring pressed locking detent 27 adapted to engage the notches 28a of a rack segment 29.

-For the purpose of driving the shaft 3, the latter is shown as provided with a pulley 30, there being a belt 31 and a pulley 32 on the sha.ft,33 of al motor 34 by means of which said propeller shaft may be driven.

With the partsconstructed and arranged as described, power will be transmitted from' the motor 34 to the shaft 3, thereby to rotate the same and the propeller blades. The parts are so arranged that, by moving the lever 26,

the rod 14 will be correspondingly moved wit-hin the shaft 3, thereby to rotate the propeller blades about their axes and upon their I locked in a vertical position to the gear segment, the propeller blades will be locked 1n the neutral position shown in Fig. 3. If the lever be moved to the left of the central notch on the rack segment, the blades will be given a pitch in one direction which will increase with the distance the lever is moved from such central notch. lf the lever be moved in the opposite direction from such' central notch,the pitch will be reversed and the amount of the pitch in this direction will increase with the distance of the lever from such notch. Furthermore," it will be apparent that this reversal and variation in pitch may be accomplished without reversing the shaft 3, but by merely moving the rod 14 within the said shaft.

. By means of my invention, it will be apparent that the pitch of the propeller may be conveniently adjusted to accommodate va.- rious conditions. ln the case of an airplane, when at a high\altitude, the blades may be set to a pitch as high as (with the parts constructed as shown herein) thereby insuring eiicient operation of the propeller at such altitudes.

Having thus described my invention, what ll claim is:

1. rlFhe combination of a hollow shaft, a hub on said shaft and having longitudinal slots extending in opposite directions from the central portion thereof, blades rotatably mounted upon and extending from said hub,

.a rod slidably mounted in said shaft, pins carried by said rod and mounted in said slots, an opera-tive connection between the i ,acuoso outer end of each pin and a blade for rotatingthe latter about its axis, the said shaft having a Slot therein, a collar slidably mounted on said shaft and connected with said rod through said slot, al ring rotatably mounted on said collar, means connected with said ring for moving the said collar and the said rod, and means for driving the said shaft.

2. rllhe combination of a hollow shaft, a hub mounted on said shaft and having slots extending from the central portion thereof, blades rotatably mounted onl said hub and each having a base extending across the outer end of a slot, a rod slidably mounted in said shaft, pins projecting from said rod and through the said slots and into the slots in thebases of said blades, respectively, means for driving said shaft, means for moving the said rod longitudinally of said shaft, and means for supporting the said rod and thereby the said blades in various adjusted positions.

3. rlhe combination of a hollovsT shaft having a hub, blades rotatably mounted on said hub and project-ing therefrom, a rod slidablv mounted in said shaft, means for driving said shaft, means for reciprocating the said rod within the said shaft, means connected with the said rod for locking the same in any adjusted position with reference to said shaft, and connections between said rod and saidb-lades for rocking t-he same about their su ports upon the said hub.

n testimony whereof, ll hereunto ax my slgnature.

NORMAN lF OVERTURF. 

